Watercolor Sketch From Kyoto Japan

Watercolor Sketching

June 18, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Watercolor Sketch, in sketch book on hand made paper, Yonghe Gong Lama Temple, Beijing, China

I dabbled with watercolor sketching, but really fell in love with it when I lived in Hong Kong. I had so much wonderful subject matter around me andI wanted to try plein air painting, so I started going out on location and painting in my watercolor sketch book. The major thing I learned after I started doing itwas, it took away the intimidation of doing a painting in watercolor. Sometimes I would sit in the studio and look at a big piece of white paper and wonder if I was going to pulloff something I was going to be happy with. Even though artists shouldn’t get caught up in that way of thinking, that everything we do has to be a winner because it always isn’t! After all it’s just paper and paint, but I think deep down we always want to be happy with what we create at the end of the day.

Watercolor sketching is a wonderful thing to do for so many reasons:

Sketching forces you to be quick and not over think things.
It forces you to simplify what you are seeing in the environment and not get caught up in the details.
It gave me a chance to feel more comfortable with the medium and took away the intimidation when I did do larger works in the studio.
If you do it plein air, it’s great to be out in nature or really soak in the sights and sounds of a place, much better than a quick photo.
Gives you a lasting memory of a moment in time when you were enjoying the act of painting.
Sketches can be used to develop bigger paintings.
Great way to meet people or connect with other artists if you go out together.
My watercolor sketch books go with me when ever I travel. Your sketch books becomesa treasure of meaningful memories.

In future posts I will talk about my materials and share some of my sketches. I hope it inspires you to try it!

This sketch was done at the Lama Temple in Beijing. I had a nice older chinese gentlemen sit down next to me on the bench while I worked on this sketch. We talked about a variety of things. I will never forget it!

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Lotus Nocturne

June 12, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Lotus Nocturne

$175.00

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Limited Edition Archival Giclée Print Signed and Numbered, Edition of 300

Original painting is SOLD.

Image Size: Half size from original, 19.5" x 9.25," (23.5 cm x 49.5 cm)

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The lotus is part of the symbolic language of eastern religions. It is a symbol of purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. Each part of the plant has a meaning or significance from the roots, to the stems emerging from muddy waters, the leaves, buds and flowers. Symbolizing the souls journey through life, coming from the murky water, the stems rise above the mud, the buds an unborn soul, the beautiful flower rising above it all and opening, enlightenment, and the seeds falling from the pod, enlightened souls to help guide others.

Traveling through Asia I have marveled at lotus ponds I have seen in Bali, China and Japan. I have wanted to do a large painting in a vertical format for a while and felt this was the perfect subject matter. I enjoyed designing the composition for this piece and wanted to depict all the stages of the flower from bud, to bloom, to the seed pods and the strength of this majestic plant rising to the heavens. It wasa meditation and a challenge at the same time working with a limited palette of color for a larger painting.

Lion Dance

June 10, 2013 Kim Minichiello

When my family and I moved to Hong Kong, it was right after Christmas and right before the Chinese New Year Celebration, the year of the pig. We had no idea the extent of this holiday and it was a real treat to experience it while living there. There are so many fascinating traditions, celebrations, and spectacles that last fifteen days. One of my favorite things to experience was the Lion Dance. These can break out anywhere. They were performed several times in our apartment complex, and whenever we heard the loud gong, cymbals and drums we would rush down to watch. The dance is to provoke good luck, and is performed by two people usually trained in martial arts, one person performing the head and the other the body. They dance along the route to a gong, drums and cymbals. Sometimes following a laughing Buddha, dressed in monks robes wearing a mask. Above the doorways are placed heads of romaine lettuce or some type of greens. The lion eats the lettuce and scatters the leaves on the ground for good luck. There is mirror on the head of the lion so that evil spirits can be frightened away by their own reflections.

This painting Lion Dance depicts a lion head-piece from a performance that I saw. I loved working on this painting, the bold color, the subject matter and the size really spoke to me. I almost feel as if it painted itself! I love it when that happens! This is the largest painting I have done in watercolor it measures 36” x 36”. I really enjoyed working big!

Tang Women from the Musee Guimet in Paris

May 31, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Here is another sketch from the Musee Guimet in Paris. I love using charcoal pencils for these sketches. It's so responsive to the paper that I can barely put any pressure on them and get some really interesting sketch marks. I have been planning on doing a painting of these girls, but I'm not quite sure want I want to do yet. Still percolating in my brain.

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Kyoto Sonae-Mono (Offering)

May 29, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Kyoto, Japan is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a place I long to go to again and again. This painting Kyoto Sonae-mono is from an offering I saw at one of the many temples in this lovely city. Sonae-mono means offering.

This painting was painted using only 3 primary colors, French Ultramarine Blue, Aureolin Yellow and Permanent Rose, plus an American Journey color called Mint Julep which is semi opaque. This was a great exercise in mixing all the color I needed from the basics!

Musee Guimet Sketch

May 17, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Here is another quick sketch from the Musee Guimet in Paris. When I lived in Paris, I became a member so that I could go any time to do quick sketches of all the wonderful Asian artifacts there to keep up my drawing practice. If you are in Paris, I would recommend a visit. It’s a beautiful museum in the 16th, never really super crowded like the popular museums. There is a nice cafe on the lower level for lunch and an annex to to the museum down the street which houses more artifacts and a Japanese Tea Garden where sometimes they do Tea Ceremony. This was a real respite for me when I needed a peaceful moment to escape the hustle and bustle. If you live in Paris, I would highly recommend seeing some of the music and dance performances from Asian cultures from all over the world in their wonderful theatre space!

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Balinese Lotus, Progress

May 15, 2013 Kim Minichiello

Today I am posting a few progress photos for this study of Balinese Lotus.

Balinese Lotus

May 10, 2013 Kim Minichiello

One of my favorite projects I worked on at Walt Disney Imagineering was Disney’sAnimal Kingdom, especially since it involved travel! I was part of the design team for the Asian area and Discovery Island, formally known as Safari Village. The design team would go on research trips to Asia, to immerse ourselves in the culture, and photo document countries we visited to help us to re- create similar environments in the park. We would also seek out and work with local artisans and craftsmen to create elements that would eventually be part of the overall design. On one of these trips we went to Bali, one of the most peaceful and magical places I have ever been. This painting is called Balinese Lotus, after the lotus pond at Cafe Lotus which overlooks Pura Saraswati. This is a small study for a larger piece I’m working on. In the next post, I will post a few progress photos of this piece.